No such thing shall ever happen to you

Nm 20,1-13; Ps 94; Mt 16,13-23
8 AUGUST

Simon Peter confesses that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God by revelation of the Father. Jesus proclaims Simon blessed, attesting that his word came neither from flesh nor from blood, but from his Father. He promises him that on his rock he would have built his Church and that the gates of the underworld would have never won, would have never made her its slave. In addition, he also gives him the keys to the kingdom of heaven. What he will bind on earth, it will be bound in the heavens. What he will loosen on earth, it will be loosened in the skies. Who then is Simon for the Church and for the world? The one who always recognizes the true Christ, separating him from the false ones, that are many, too many. The Church founded on Peter will never worship a false Christ in place of the true one. Any other Church not founded on Peter might always incur this danger. Instead of the true Christ she could worship a false one. She could worship a Christ of men and not the Christ of God. Since Christ of God, truth, grace, way, life and light are one, it could happen that in other confessions one of these essential “parts” of the full Truth of Christ is missing. One could have a Christ without either truth, or grace, or way, or life and or light. In reality, some confessions do not have even the Christ of God, the Incarnate Word, anymore.

Immediately afterwards Jesus reveals the modalities of his being the Christ of God. They are those of the suffering Righteous and those of the suffering Servant of the Psalms and of Isaiah. Peter once again intervenes and tells Jesus that this must never happen to him. God must never want this. If God has already prophesied it, might the Lord God ever change one of his absolute prophecies, not conditioned by the events of history? If the prophecy is conditioned, removed or fulfilled the condition, the prophecy is not fulfilled. If you do not get converted, you will perish the same way. Conditioned prophecy. We get converted, we do not perish. We do not get converted, we perish. But if the prophecy is absolute it remains valid forever. Now the Psalms and Isaiah on the Messiah are absolute prophecies, without condition. They will always be fulfilled. Heaven and earth pass, the prophecy remains. This time the words of Jesus are diametrically opposed: “Go after me, Satan! You are a scandal to me, because you do not think according to God, but according to men!” Why did he speak according to God before and now according to men? Because before he speaks from the truth of God about Christ Jesus. Now he does not speak from the truth of God, but from the falseness of men.

When Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter said in reply, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Jesus said to him in reply, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father. And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Then he strictly ordered his disciples to tell no one that he was the Messiah. From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer greatly from the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised. Then Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, “God forbid, Lord! No such thing shall ever happen to you.” He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle to me. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.”

The teaching that Jesus gives is high, very high. Before speaking, everyone must ask the Lord to give him the right Word. Even Jesus, though being full of the Holy Spirit, always prayed to the Father to always make him say the most just Word and to let him carry out only his works. Without a heartfelt prayer, that lasts whole days if it is necessary, it is always possible that we speak from our heart and not from the heart of God, from our instinct or desire and not from the truth of the Scriptures. The heartfelt prayer will always preserve us from saying on Christ the word according to men. This way was used by Jesus, it must be used by every member of his body.

Mother of God, Angels and Saints, help us so that we become persons of true prayer.